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a MNK's (21) days return to Sony's EQ
DijonCyanide
Member UncommonPosts: 586
i just recently returned to EQ via Sony's generous 21 days of free EQ play offer. It had been a few months since i let my subscription lapse. Though i'm seriously tempted by other MMOs so far EQ is my only MMO i've played pass betas &/or trials. Why oh why did i quit EQ, not being able to progress despite a plethora of attempting makes my Monk sad. A sad Monk, like a fat Monk, in EQ is just wrong & will get others & you killed. It doesn't help FDing on a pull if the mob trips on your bloated beer-belly, hmm beer, but i digress. So during my appreciative return, yes for some things that deserve i'm thankful to Sony(SOE), i wanted to jot a few happenings & my perspectives while i ventured abound EQ. Though i hadn't been playing i had been trying to keep-up on EQ activities from time to time. i'm a casual player, 1 account 1 main toon, Platinum Edition, had been playing about 1 year & 1/2, 65 MNK w/ Cest. Fist, Morden Rasp orphan, about 190 AAs, 100K+ in plat because i use coupons, & despite Sony's very own Kytherea's Keepsakes 12/22/05 cute article: http://eqplayers.station.sony.com/news_article.vm?id+50050 i think EQ MNKs are worth mentioning! So without any further ado, roll that beautiful bean footage, @ the least for my own amusement & recollection.
i had uninstalled EQ since i hadn't played in many months. The reinstalling & patching-up wasn't a problem, but redoing the user-interface was frustrating since i had forgot all about the newish EQ interface. i still state the buff icons need to be more distinctive. Also, i'm in that Twilight Zone vibe where some things i remember & some things i forget, & some are autonomous where i'm like, "What the heck did i just do? Oh wait cool!". Remembering to replace fishing pole with a weapon, significant unless Fishing. Remembering to use the LFG function while waiting & watching the PoKnowledge pixel grass NOT grow, effective somewhat. Remembering to remake your Feign Death hotbutton, priceless for not only you but others!
Not even 5 minutes after logging on after a drought of time hiatus, a long-term ingame friend found me. A nice SHM that now has a MNK that is far better than mine. So SchanSHM/MNK logged to the SHM & allowed me to group & we went to BoThunder. Being my level & limitations with content BoThunder has been imprinted into my mind even though i hadn't played for a lengthy time. We did well, i was frantic trying to make sure i didn't screw up too badly & get us killed. i admit i was rusty not having fluent pulls & i even forgot to make a 'INComing %T' hotbutton. We even had a 3rd member join us for awhile, but after multiple extended leaves of absence without warnings, we decided to ditch the rude Gecko. Always interesting how while ingroup they don't respond & do nothing, but once disbanded they reply quickly. Anyway, this partnering Exp. was fun & appreciated by me. Alas, all good things must come to an end since the SHM had to switch to MNK to help out a guilder in a zone i cannot access. BoThunder did remind me how EverQuest is really 'EverGrind' @ times though.
i had already prepared myself before utilizing this (21) days that i would, attempt, the most dreaded past-time in Sony's EQ. No no, not LFGing, i like many have that skill maxed sadly. i mean the heinous art of Trade Skilling. Sure i've plucked @ a few of them throughout my EQ days, but not a focused effort. i'm starting out with baby-steps though. Let's continue my Angler license. my Fishing had been @ ;112 & using my Collapsible Fishing-pole & an amount of 40 baits after about an hour my skill went up to, drum roll please, 2 skills! i had 124 WIS/INT so i'm not the smartest MNK by far but: Dear Sony(SOE), that type of Trade-skilling SUCKS. Needless to say, for now @ least, i've been discouraged from further Trade-skilling despite buying numerous Geerloks. & again Sony(SOE) needs to make a Geerlok device for languages even though it's a trivial concern.
Purchasing a few Geerloks reminds me i visited the haven of ingame commercialism, The Bazaar. Yep it's confirmed, the EQ economy is still greatly inflated by my eye. Since the majority of the remaining population are veterans &/or multi-accounters that have significant amounts of EQ wealth, i've heard some have multi-millions, EQ ingame is a higher cost of living. Also, though i thought frowned upon by Sony(SOE), rumor has it that the real-life $ for ingame $ flourishes sadly. It seems to only be getting worse too since fewer & fewer players are joining EQ & only the already rich remain. It took me 1 year & 1/2 to save a bit over 100K. Auggies are SO expensive, & i noticed 1 or 2 named vendors are still the main sellers of them in Bazaar. Sure some items are more expensive, some are cheaper, some about the same. my dream of returning to find my Bazaar selling trinkets all in great demand was thoroughly shattered though, hehe. There's also somewhat of a 2nd economy, a buyers/sellers market for items that power-level multi-accounters &/or alternate-toons, but that has always been somewhat present. It was fun viewing items that i had not remembered or hadn't seen before though they didn't seem that much better.
Now to my efforts to locate & use The Forgotten Halls. i'm a sight-seeing sucker! It's one of the many low-points of Sony's EQ that so many gorgeously designed zones nowadays are ghost-towns therefore not getting viewed & appreciated. Even if your fighting in a zone it's tough to find the time to take a look around & smell the flowers per say. Sony(SOE) needs something &/or a server that all accounts get access for 1 toon & it's NO mobs, but the structures & all zones accessible for viewing pleasure. Anyway, The Forgotten Halls is an instanced i read about some time ago that didn't need a group. It's off of Nedaria's landing & to my understanding was implemented to preview a bit of Omens, or Gates, i forget. Either way since i not have Omens & Gates is too higher-item/level for me this was my chance to peek @ a glimpse of the scenery. It is NICE. Looks TRONish like the 80s movie, but keeping the EQ-feel. Those malnourished people concern me & i hope they order a pizza. Those juggernauts look like a breeding of an Ogre & a Stone-Golem. i also see those bluish markings being similar to screens of those EQ2's Erudites' markings. i just wonder did the chicken or the egg come 1st in that example? Still cannot figure out what that big room with the energy is for though, & the bats & rats rooms seem broken quests or just filler. i like the bridge too, i tried jumping off so not sure what that indicates about my MNK.
i visited my old haunt from long days ago, Sol. B.(Nagafen's lair). Most my 50's lvling was there. He was up, since mostly underused ingame now matter of fact i only 1 in zone, so i jogged my way pass the FireGiants to the door FDing then opening door to gaze upon the 1st dragon i ever fought. i think Nagafen has lost some weight. i used to be able to get to midway on that little bridge but i got booted sooner this time. So i quickly CKed to see if Efreeti was up & some other named, but notta. @ least i can see Naggy, in PermaFrost cannot get close enough to see Lady Vox well @ all. Side-not i once heard & viewed a video where a MNK soloed Nagafen, COOL!
So besides the reacquainting with a couple of ingame friends, partnering with the Schan., benefiting from some kind MGBings, is the highlight so far of the 2/3 days return.
Out of the blue, i was CKing my stock of clutter in PoKnowledge, when i got a TELL about joining a LDoN. Some benevolent, great-geared, lvl 70s was requesting the aide of a couple lower lvls to round-off their group. i was thrilled to oblige, it would be my 1st full-group since returning, & i'm a LDoN sucker though they need to be recalculated per better rewarding i think. So, a DRU, ENC, BST, SK, & a wee MNK walk into a bar ... oops wrong story. There was one other too, i think another BST, but he/she went LD after 1 LDoN so we waited a bit & then kept plowing through them. When i say, "plow" that is exactly what i mean too. So quickly were we finishing the LDoNs we were time-locked-out a bit before we could do another. it was FUN! The SK & BST had bigtime HPs, thank goodness, & the DRU's mana was only tested a few times. The ENC & i being the lower lvls i think were just trying to keep-up with the pace but to toot the horn we contributed nicely. i asked, "Will i be pulling?" & was giggled @ with a reply of something about us just all charging the mobs. Well, the Zergs won this day. i think we even broke the 8 mob @ once limit a few times, hehe. No one died, & we won every LDoN waiting for that time-lock-out too. Not sure how many LDoNs we accomplished but as i've always stated, "Legends is how EQ should try to be" EQ should be more like this time with these players during this LDoNfest! Thanks to that group for much fun & exhilaration.
So that has been my 2/3 days back to EQ out of 21 so far. i think overall positive. There are boring lulls no doubt, but it's not due to the community which i think are keeping EQ viable as possible. Granted i had a day-off so i played more than my, used to be customarily, few hours a day/night. So far the tally is out of about 13 hours total play i been LFGing 3 approximately. my Fishing debacle is included in that LFG time too so not a total waste, freaking 2 skill-ups GEEZ Sony(SOE). For those that fell asleep while trying to read these ramblings you can wake-up now. i'll post more in a couple days. Take care & good luck out there in Sony's EQ & RL.
Q the MNK, Veiled One resider, (un)official pet class of Sony's EQ 
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=1264967 since EQPlayers wont even let me see my own toons, LOL.
Comments
Well add another 4 played hours to the mix with 1 hour being pure unadulterated bliss of LFGing.
Somewhat better news upon the Fishing since out of 100 baits i got 9 skill-ups. Wouldn't Bass Pro be proud. i felt pretty good about it though & was astonished that i got 2 skill-ups in a row once. i am a Rusty Dagger nemesis too. Overall the Trade-skilling is still
i think. Makes me think those that have devoted their time maxing the more involved Trade-skills like punishment.
Not booned enough today to get into a group so Exp. was lame today as EQ can be @ times, MANY times if not grouped. Reminds me of before i quit a few months ago i was fighting a dark-blue when i died. Not getting a Rezz. i used the light & dark-blue mobs i had been fighting to get the Exp. back. It took a bit over 2 hours! The ol' saying is 1 step forward 2 steps back(more like about 4 steps back in EQ). Today i was fortunate enough to catch the tail-end of a MGBing though of Convict. & since i can selfbuff myself to max melees i headed to another spot that used to be my haunt, Velketor's Labyrinth. Light-blue conning mobs galore which loses it's fun after killing about 4 or 5 for a microcosm of movement on even the AA Exp. bar. i almost ventured deeper into V.'s Lab. than i have in a lengthy time, but postponed this popcicle tour till a later date & better prepared.
i did catch-up a bit with a few more friends. Chatted about the game itself & other games along with RL stuff. Must say not as fun as the first couple of days back in EQ, but i was expecting a bit of a dip. Not being able to accomplish goals deters, i wanted another AA today, but sucking is what Gnome vacuums are for. i did enjoy the conversations though, getting to hear a few interesting tales. i did notice more chatter about the revamping of Freeport which caught me off guard. i didn't think so many would be hesitant of it. Perhaps this weekend will be more successful. Take care out there & good luck!
Q, MNK, Veiled One resider, (un)official pet class of Sony's EQ
Another day yesterday among the Sony's EQ faithful & another too-much-filled day of 'EverLFG'. Almost 2 of my 5 hours played were LFGing.
Always thanking for the MGBing kindness that occurs, Fishing until ... i'll explain later, & chatting with some ingame friends. Sure i can go to Velk's Lab. & kill light-blues imagining i see my AA Exp. bar moving, but that's no fun neither. i was hoping that the weekend would be more full of players so grouping more accessible, didn't seem the case. i concede not having Omens, Dragons, nor Depths limits my options, but dang Sony.
Alas, i feel today was not a total waste. Sure Exp. was nonexistent so no AA(s).
i did however, thanks to a 'Basic Instinct' movie killing tool fan & benevolent Rogue, take my beginning baby-steps into EQ's Trade-skilling. There i was LFGing @ the little pond in PoKnowledge when BAM my good ol' Collapsible Fishing Pole broke! What, i didn't even know they could break? 
So i /ooc a cursing tirade about Sony(SOE) then went the the infamous Bazaar. 1 Collapsible Fishing Pole in Bazaar & the greedster wanted 250 plat. for it. Technically i have the $, but no way in PoFire am i paying that. i left the Bazaar with a familiar thought, as more & more casual &/or new players decide EQ just isn't worth the value, having the remaining players: ol' time veterans &/or multiaccounters which being super wealthy will continue to raise the proverbial cost of living in the pixel world of EQ which they can only afford & it's pretty steep now. i think Sony(SOE) forgets that a Monk's allowance isn't that much with the weight limitations & Quellious doesn't pay well.
So this Rogue answered my /ooc with a /tell explaining how if i could get these 3 certain items i would be helped with achieving my very own Fishing Companion. To skip to the end: nice Rogue helped me achieve that Brell's Fishing Companion which summons a fishing-pole which inturn ... summons ALE. So the both of us went to Natimbi to fish awhile. & no we didn't take long walks on the beach & watch the sunset together. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Christina Milian, Grace Park, Katrina Elam, Mandy Moore, Gabrielle Union, Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, Zhang Ziyi, Miranda Lambert, Joy Bryant, &/or Katherine Heigel all still rule my dreams. If they ever all show-up @ the same time i'll have a whole other tale to tell but i digress.
Then the Rogue showed me in PoKnowledge a Brewing method so now my Brewing is @ 122. i forget my Fishing skill @ the moment, but i began Baking a bit too. Not sure if those Geerloks i bought do actually help, but they look cool in the bank. Not even sure what i can do with the Trade-skills, but it felt like an accomplishment nonetheless & in Sony's EQ that is @ least something. Never once did the Rogue ask for any type of payment, but i slipped in 500 plat anyway. i feel that kind of benevolence is too fleeting & should be rewarded when able. Many thanks to the benevolent Rogue & here's a 
for ya.
Q, Monk, Morden Rasp orphan, Sony's (un)official pet class of EQ
Playing WoW is like playing EQ's new tutorial for your 60 levels.... too easy
too bad playing EQ is like, hmm, playing EQ for 70 levels +700 AAs... too boring
To be honest, I have been doing the 21 day "re-trial", and have found EQ almost exactly as I left it over a year ago. Levelling is just as slow as before unless you have all the new expansions, prices are inflated on the new stuff and super cheap on the old. You can twink out a newb in up to luclin era (pre level restrictions) gear for 1000 plat and go do whatever you want to old world content. I have liked some of the graphics changes and the UI once you customize it a little, works well. Unfortunately, unless you have some friends, most zones are empty and groups are generally hard to find unless you are 65-70. I cannot believe the number of people with epic 1.5 & 2.0's, it is sickening. I remember when seeing someone carrying epic 1.0 was rare, or even when epics were not seen at all.
In the end, I will probably put my EQ account out to pasture after this "re-trial." The game has evolved, yet remained the same and as before, if you don't have time for 2-4 hours of straight raid time every other day, you might as well forget anything but LDON and the new "cultural" crafted gear as the best you can obtain.
I have 3x level 65 toons and have only ever had one in a major raiding guild. I just can't keep that schedule anymore. Sadly, I will have to walk away from EQ again depressed that my favorite MMORPG was destroyed the day Luclin came out.
I PvP, there is no way to aquire raid gear in EQ of the same quality as raiders except raiding. I despise raiding and raiders and have gear equal to theirs from PvP. I also slap them around when they come to my area, many whiners on the Vanguard boards (esp casters) have been bit*h slapped into next week by my warrior. If they had any SKILL, instead of the ability to spend useless hours farming STUPID raid mobs, they might win now and then.
Today started out really slow in EQ, in total for today's (yesterday's by the time i type this) LFG versus played time tally was 3 hours LFG with total played time of a bit over 5 hours. Dang i wish Sony(SOE) would widen that buff-preservation concept to all of PoKnowledge instead of just that Guild Lobby, even if it was some type of server quest to be completed. Then again, 'if' i think EQ offers enough opportunity i'll resubscribe using that Titanium so it would become a moot issue. i attempted a bit more Trade skills.
i also chatted with some more ingame friends, it's nice to see how most still have fun & to hear they are doing well in real life too.
As mentioned previously, today started out SLOW, but ended up in much fun thanks to a Gecko Beastlord whom is no 'tool'. We went with a Druid holding a glowing branch to the PoHate. We killed many villains including a named. Dang a lot of Shaman gear drops there. After the Druid had to leave, the Beasty & i partnered down in the depths of Velk's Lab. Many popcicle Furballs, Cones, & Arachnids were slaughtered. i think we did well, we didn't die, but i concede i hadn't ventured that deep within Velk's in a lengthy time, but then again as i mentioned in a previous post i was wanting too.
i still wish when i began EQ i would've 2 accounted my Monk with a Shaman so progression would be easier, i would've never quit then. However i still feel the original design intent was for a player to play 1 character. Those multi-accounters are innovative, sure i get jealous @ times, but they are playing the best way possible for today's state of Sony's EQ. Hind sight is 20/20 i suppose. Thanks to pretty pixel lady near PoKnowledge's main bank that gifted me a heal potion. Also, much thanks to a benevolent buffing Shaman Ogre who's not 'goin'.
ALERT ALERT ALERT, i saw today for the 1st time since my return that mythical elusive EQ creature a ... GM, might've been a Guide i'm not sure. Was in ShadowRest, then next thing i knew POOF was in Emerald Jungle (hopefully working on the awful zone loading time there). Gotta luv that green title. Did i ever mentioned my Monk had a green title once, but that is a tale for another time.
Do take care out there & 'try' to have fun!
Q, Monk, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
Just spent 3 of my 4 hours played LFGing.
i did a little Fishing till a few nice peeps decided to gift MGBs. Afterwards i left, still LFGing, for another ol' hunting spot of mine where the deer & the antelope play: Crypt of Nadox. @ least when something dies here i can actually tell the AA Exp. moves a smidgen. & low & behold off a named i got a Garish Sash loot. It's some Enchanter item, but i think it's the rare with some WIS/INT enhancing casting. After that i was ready to call it a day/night feeling like i somewhat succeeded. However, another nice peeps blessed the ever shrinking EQ community with another MGBing.
So i decided to travel to PoJustice in hopes that the basement was free or i would be allowed to join in. All this time LFGing. Usually i get a couple of /tells asking me if i want to go here or there & they happen to be zones of expansions i don't have. Even though on my LFG i mention i not have those expansions. i played @ odd hours though so i'm hoping that is why LFGing was SO dreadful. There wasn't many players about it seemed too. So, i was doing well in PoJustice, mostly dark blues were spawning which are soloable & supposedly better Exp. than light blues. Occasionally a gem drops as loot &/or a couple of other various trinkets, but i wasn't there for loot nor to get rich. i was wanting to close in on my last 2 AAs to max Kick Mastery. Slowly but steadily i was working my way back & forth killing the 4 monsters in the corridor before the big basement hall. However this came to a sudden end when while still fighting one another spawned. i Feigned Death, it failed, huh well a 200 maxed skill isn't what it used to be i guess. i wonder if it has any correlation with Sony(SOE) making all those specific Feign Death AAs. So getting beat to death i Feign Death again, it failed.
Well i got to enjoy my 1st death in EQ since returning. 
Oh well, i guess i should've invested some AAs into those Feign Death options by now anyway. @ least i remembered where my Bind spot was.
A level 65 character killed by a dark blue monster still loses 1 & 1/2 blues Exp. by the way. i thought this occurrence was sadly amusing since this is what happened on my last death before i quit EQ, just different zone.
i'm in luck, a group were doing trials in PoJustice & there was a S. frog Cleric. i politely asked if/when she/he was able to Rezz. me i would appreciate. This Cleric of the Valheru replied that they were almost done so it would be a little bit. i stated thank you, sorry to bother you during trial, & good luck. About an hour later, it seems they finished because the Cleric left PoJustice to go to PoInnovation. & i even had to show the exit to a player i had once been in the same guild with who was now in that Valheru too. So 1/3rd of my possible Rezz. time is gone which the Valheru group, i think they're Europeans, were probably getting a good chuckle out of it.
No Ashton Kutcher NPC showed up saying, "You're Punked" either. So i took the safe road to log until maybe more players were on for better Rezz. chances. Before logging i sent a /tell to the 66th level S. frog Cleric not cussing her/him, not calling names, but mentioning it would've been nice to @ least tell me if there was no intent to actually help me since i cannot get a Rezz. in that Guild Lobby. How about some decency? i even mentioned i hope they succeeded, but i'm not sure if i meant it. No reply. Oh well there's rude players & there's benevolent players too, sometimes @ different times they are the same player.
i do think Sony(SOE) should evaluate their positive & negative reinforcement measures for EQ customers/players. Hm an example, it's a MMO so i LFG, but wait 3 hours later i'm still LFGing. i decided to be as efficient as possible with the buffs i had, so i solo best i can trying to earn Exp. The Exp. i get took about an hour to earn & SPLAT during 1 mishap i lose all that earned Exp. which could very well take me that long or longer to recuperate unless i get a Rezz. Stupid malfunctioning FD, you win some you lose some.
Q, Monk, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
cleric sounds like a dirt bag to me
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So i logged on a few hours later in hope of finding a kind player whom i could donate to for a resurrection. Within 15 minutes a Halfelf Paladin, i think was Halfelf, was benevolent enough to aide my dreary situation. This noble Paladin wouldn't even accept my donation & buffed me, my many thanks. For an UBER guild as they are, those son-of-Poseidon guilders sure do seem nice as this Paladin exemplified.
(Drum roll please) Kick Mastery is maxed finally! i wish i could state i've noticed a nice improvement since, but nay so far. Earned my 193rd AA today thanks to a good group of peeps in BoThunder. @ too many times in EQ it seems a plight to just get a group & this group was good & fun. We did have a couple of deaths, poor other Monk, but over all we progressed nicely. Not sure if i'll ever finish that Torden Ring thing, but now i have Blizzard & Sand gems too so like half way there. Even though i really appreciated the fluent flow of Exp., since happenings of it can be rare, it had to end since i had to go to my Grandma's. i know it sounds corny. Grandma>EQ
So 1/3rd through my return journey in Sony's EQ. i've earned 5 more AAs, i died once with plenty more to come, visited a few old haunts, haven't been sight seeing as much as i like though, began trade skilling, LFGed almost 1/3rd of played time too, have chatted with many friends & nice players, glimpsed a sighting of that mythical creature Bigfoot no no twas a GM &/or Guide once, among some other activities. Today was fun, not much LFGing & was able to progress. Good luck & take care you EQ players, may Sony(SOE) bless you with generous loots. i know i aint getting much, but i admit, by many past giftings from kind players, luck, & toiling away my gear holds it's own.
Q, Monk, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
I PvP, there is no way to aquire raid gear in EQ of the same quality as raiders except raiding. I despise raiding and raiders and have gear equal to theirs from PvP. I also slap them around when they come to my area, many whiners on the Vanguard boards (esp casters) have been bit*h slapped into next week by my warrior. If they had any SKILL, instead of the ability to spend useless hours farming STUPID raid mobs, they might win now and then.
HAHA! I gotta give you props on the reply. Best I think I've ever read. You're making me wanna try WoW again, but I just don't think I would enjoy myself anymore than the first time. Do BGs still have hour(s) long waits?
Today was tough but i did earn AA 194th. The Schan., a Ranger, & i decided to venture into BoThunder a bit. It amazes me that most times it's like a ghost town nowadays. painful to admit but i got the three of us killed once on a bad pull in the upper regions. We each got a little bit of loot though, thanks to back-to-back named spawns @ Tables. We were ahead on Exp. too, but it was a rough day. The Schan. & the Ranger died once more, but not my fault, because of a real-life incident causing a belated heal. The Ranger called it quits, i'm sure irritated. i logged for awhile to save my remaining Rezz. time. Later, i logged on & was able to acquire a Rezz. thanks to The Schan. then The Schan. had to go to PoFire for a guild raid event. So not wanting to waste buffs i headed to the basement of PoJustice. After awhile, the Monk, with pizza-cutter, that had unfortunate deaths in BoThunder a few days ago appeared & we partnered the basement. Pizza-cutter Monk had me worried a few times, but i followed the lead & we did very well clearing it. Not bad for two Monks. i am quickly becoming a huge fan of that potion line of Elixir healing. Today had peril, excitement, achievement, & blunder. Anyone else ever tap their screen to make sure their Exp. bar isn't stuck? Good luck & take care out there.
Q the Monk, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
i also took an estimated population count during the day of level 70s. i used to do this, & still have the papers for it, when i travelled to the Legends server long ago. (*) means the count was apparently over 20 players per the class.
01/11/'06 about 2:30pm CST of all of level 70s. Of course the /Anonymous i cannot account for: BRD-16, BST-*, BER-5, CLR-*, DRU-*, ENC-14, MAG-11, MNK-16, NEC-17, PAL-*, RNG-*, ROG-18, SHD-11, SHM-*, WAR-*, WIZ-18 so there was @ least 273 level 70s. Near that same time i was the only Monk level 65. Again, cannot account for /Anonymous. Just thought it was interesting, & i like to do things like that.
Q, MNK, Veiled One occupant, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
Out-of-game reference ... i looked at the Titanium package today, very VERY tempting, but i was able to compose myself for now. As good of a value as it seems, the current pace of expansions from Sony(SOE) will never let me get near playing the end-game & that's with EQ evolving as is. Wow, 375 zones or more, does EQ really need all those zones if most are infrequently used along with loots. Some are never seen but by a few players, granted well deserving. i'm sure Titanium would open up opportunities for me to progress more effectively, but after one year & 1/2 investment of money & time my level 65 with 194 AAs doesn't seem very probable in achieving any significant gains. Especially when next month Prophecy of Ro releases adding more. i, as a casual player, cannot play Sony's EQ the same number of hours as a job, even though at times i might want to. Perhaps Sony(SOE) has been &/or is now focusing on the already established veterans, multi-account players, &/or even the professional players EQ has predominantly. As Sony(SOE) should, to a degree, since it seems that's the majority of the remaining population. i bet there's a correlation between the players' investment into Sony's EQ & the quitting ratio. i can't help but feel the vibe that Sony(SOE) views the casual player as a side-note. i'm beginning to understand the appeal of other MMOs that i've heard allow casual players to progress among the hardcore players. If i remember correctly, someone associated with EQ at one time used to state, "Content is King." i agree that content is a priority, but having a game being fun for a player has it's place too. Still LFGing almost 1/3rd of total time played too. Get proper buffs, find a group, hope group doesn't dissolve, camp good Exp. spot, & hope that the timing of all these things happen within approximate time of each other to make each useful. Sony(SOE) please don't leave us standing in PoKnowledge with our LFG hanging in the wind.
Ingame Monk news ... The Abysmal Sea free Trade-Skilling quests are super boring! i'm glad they are free & thankful to Sony(SOE) for this particular idea, but no Exp., no item, & major time-sink of pushing buttons & moving the cursor around. This is what i was left to do today since after my first hour of LFGing i hit a threshold of tolerance. No earned AA happening, matter of fact my Exp. didn't gain at all. The glass half-full perspective is that my Exp. didn't lessen either. Please make the Abysmal Sea class specific armor quests multi-questable! i want me Pressl's, actually ... 2 bracers & sandals please. Also worthy of note to any fledgling Monks reading this dribble, Pressl is a female Iksar. For some reason all this time i had thought Pressl would be male.
The economics of Sony's EQ seems to indeed have an underseeded somewhat flourishing real-life currency for ingame currency &/or item(s) market. Also, i witnessed a selling-loots-right throughout the day.
Remember my mentioning of the EQ so-said mythical creature, no not the Loch Ness, the GM(s) &/or Guide(s). Today must've been a release date at the Akanon zoo, because i saw 4 or 5 today. i'm sure they were helping those in need, but they forgot to gift me my dream* Monk equipment again. i didn't view them do anything substantial: quests, events, but i think a few minor foods & beverages were gifted about. They seemed pleasant too in PoKnowledge interacting a little with us players. It's always good to remember that Sony(SOE) GMs have their 'EYE' on us. Also, for my first time i saw a GM Monk. Reminds me again how once i had the green title for a few hours on my name, but without all those pesty super-powers, damn-it. i still need to tell that story, but at a later time. my thanks to the GM(s), Guide(s), & customer service throughout my EQ history: Morden Rasp, /petitions, Emails, Legends, Povar, & even Rathe long LONG ago. i may not always agree with them, but i've always respected them & i've seen players disrespect GM(s) &/or Guide(s) while they still did their job & tolerated it.
Brostyn ... thanks for the tip, it's on my list of sights to try to see during this time. i hope i can make it through the little rock crack to get in.
Happy Friday the 13th by the way! So good luck & take care in real-life & in EQ. Time to hone those Trade-Skills, can you feel it, can you feel the overwhelming happy happy joy joy. Needless to say, EQ wasn't that much fun today. Here's to hope that the remaining EQ days are more fulfilling.
Q, Monk, Veiled One resider, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
This segment isn't greatly exciting, but contained some fun playing nonetheless. i was allowed to join a group for a popcicle LDoN which we won, only 1 death, a few AAs were earned by the group, & someone won an Auggy. Was a good group too, but we only did the 1 LDoN. They had wanted to go to a few other zones i cannot access since still using Platinum Edition, & i was willing to go back to LFGing, but they were kind enough to forego probably better Exp. to include me which i appreciated.
i soloed my 1st dark-blue Fire-Giant in Nagafen's Lair self-buffed, no other tricks, but with Virtue too. i had to make my way to the throne room, Tranix was absent, so i could get the Earring of the Brood words. i'm sure i'll never complete the quest: only 1/3rd of Veeshan's Peak key so far, pending my resubscribing or resignation, & only 4 of the 8 words needed. i sure do wish Sony(SOE) would make questing in EQ more conductive.
Just to note, in Sol. B. 2 Lava Duct Crawlers can kill an Imp Protector, & they will fight each other. Also, in Sol. A. 3 Blazing Fire Elementals will defeat 4 Flame Goblins being rivals.
So nothing to do in Sony's EQ, my LFG apparently malfunctioning, i briefly went back to the basement of PoJustice to hunt tediously. Matter of fact, a very knowledgeable Monk long ago told me about this spot being a nice fit. i just didn't have the patience to do more Abysmal Sea Trade-Skills again yet, besides i wanted to utilize my remaining buffs.
i jogged to Western Wastes, well i had to fall & swim part of the way there too. i had maxed my CoVeeshan faction long LONG ago. i had hoped that Temple of Veeshan would be routinely active, sadly not the case, when i had begun playing. i walked around the frozen lands admiring the many wonderful aged dragons. i think total there are about 50 named dragons possible in WW. i like the Yeldema dragon models' goatee, the Myga dragon models' are mean looking, Entariz dragon models' look the smartest, Ionat dragon models' have the ugliest faces, Mazi dragon models' look pretty interesting, & the Quoza dragon models' just look awesome. i also like the colors of the Harla Dar the best, that deep rich purplish. Not sure if i got all that correct on names & such, tough to read my scribbles sometimes. So i entered ToVeeshan, Sontalak was on vacation, to get the Earring of the Brood words from there too. i even left Q there, now to decide to try to explore or use the return home feature.
Not a lot accomplished, which @ too many times in Sony's EQ that becomes more & more difficult, but achieved a bit of progress. Now to fill my quota of LFG allotment for the day. i'm hoping that a group of players still do those Saturday community raids, RoS if i remember. Those were great fun & a help to casual players too. Good luck to you & take care!
Q, Monk, Morden Rasp orphan, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
Are you seriously considering staying now? Honestly, I spent about 14 days of my 21 days just jerking off running around in old zones that I had not been to in years. They are all deserted sadly and I found my time online moderately depressing. Yeah I had some fun doing some similar stuff to what you did, but in the end I realized there was absolutely nothing for me in the game anymore. Not nothing more to do, just nothing that I can accomplish without devoting a ton of time into a 6 year old game. Time I don't have anymore sadly.
Such a great game EQ is though. The huge expanses of explorable territory, quests, factions, and everything just won't ever be matched again unless Verant's rendition of EQ2 (aka Vangaurd) works out better than I anticipate.
i hope all had a nice Martin Luther King Jr. day, & a good weekend. Yes, Daeandor, i'm still considering resubscribing to EQ. It's not looking probable now
, but i'm trying to keep an open mind. Too many times Sony(SOE) does make it difficult to keep 
though.
As i did, in a very unorganized fashion, with my Titanium announcement posting here. i'm in preparation & near completion to post similar on the EQ forums of my suggestions, complaints, ideas, rants, & raves. i doubt i address any brand new issues, but i'll be satisfied if the readdressing of my EQ concerns sparks some constructive debate therefore hopefully progress. i had been in hope that this new EQ Producer, Chris Lena, would place a foot forward & address game issues, but seems so far the interview spots are mostly for promotional fodder
.
So what's been going on for a Monk recently ingame: i used one of my devices to Reviviscenced a Rogue inside Kaladim that was trying to pick-pocket, ironicaly, the GrandMaster Rogue. The Rogue said it wasn't neccessary & normally i wouldn't had used my precious resource upon this type of incident, but the player had been in the 1st of the 2 guilds i had been in so the nostalgai was there. Besides, if/when i quit EQ this time, i'll most probably commit pixel suicide so never to be tempted & return
. So using up the trinkets i've got in a good cause i feel is just. i'm already thinking of the method i'll quit EQ incase. A nice group allowed me to join a PoTactics hunt which we did very well. i had forgotten i could even enter there. A Ranger did most of the pulling since i'm rusty & didn't really remember the layout too well. It was fun which i appreciated. i actually witnessed a few players of a guild venture into ToVeeshan. Same ol' same ol' with the almost 1/3rd of my play time being LFGing, & most my soloing is in PoJustice basement. It's SLOW, but i'm confident there & the little items that drop balance out the cost of the Elixirs. i've earned my 197th AA, so that's 9 AAs in 12 days. Even though that rude frog Cleric left me hanging in PoJustice of Valheru without a Rezz. which said would do, i think most of Valheru are good & kind players based upon grouping with a few of them. Witnessing more & more, "Selling loots rights." i completed the Abysmal Sea free Fletching T-Skilling 
. i actually saw a GM-Admin. Flanser on server briefly. Apparently she/he didn't get the Sony(SOE) inner-office memo to patch/gift me my 'dream' Monk items either 
. my thanks to a Cleric player that COULD be appropriately named, 'Universe', but isn't 
. my sarcastic thanks to Sony(SOE) for allowing me to spend 2+ hours looking for Champion Stinging Nettle without luck, & seeing Elder Gnarled Pine a couple of times 
. It's these type of situations, like the realization that i'll never catch-up in AAs & Etc Etc, that discourage casual players i think & sucks the fun out of EQ quicker than ... well, i wont bring my Xgirlfriend into this.
Good luck out there, & take care. Remember that the Sony(SOE) beast preys upon our hopes & dreams while gutting out any possible fun. i'm joking, somewhat, all of Sony(SOE) cannot be that bad
can they?
Q, Monk, Morden Rasp orphan, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
I was tempted to give it a try...than I remember about raiding and turn my back fast!
Not to mention, been 65 in a world of 70ish would be hurting me a lot.
Nope, unless they launch a non-raiding server, my EQ days are dead.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
It does suck mightily to come in at 65 and so far behind in the collection of AA abilities and up-to-date gear. I can't deny that. And it is really hard not to get massively discouraged. It helps to have a guild that will take you along for exp, but it is kind of embarrassing when they look at the gear on your SK and decide to have the ranger tank instead.
Raiding isn't what it used to be, for the most part. Older content is child's play for a guild full of 70's, so many things that were once raid situations are now group situations, and most raids in newer expansions seem to be designed to be done faster and with fewer people. That's kind of an outside observation from a non-raider, though. The guild I was in most recently might hit 6 different targets for epic 1.5s on a Saturday when they once would have spent all day Saturday and Sunday in Vex Thal. YMMV.
I didn't much feel the need to raid when the trash loot in OoW and the loot from DoD monster missions was better than anything I had. It would have been hard for me to imagine that stuff like this could exist back in the days when I was saving my coppers to buy a pair of Jagged Bands. For instance, the range item from what is arguably the EASIEST of the Monster Missions, at full power (I was level 65ish when I got it, IIRC):
And then there was this little thing from the Fairy Mission:
... So, I picked up over 200hp and 200 mana in "minor" equipment slots, duoing with my husband who was 2boxing to give us the required 3 players.
Eh, whatever. I just think the importance of raiding is overstated in EQ as it is today.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
i'm ending my EQ tenure
therefore ceasing this little journal attempt. i very much appreciate the 21 free days back to EQ offer from Sony(SOE) but with various other reasons & their current customer service roll-back blunder it has shown me that Sony(SOE) still has little or no concern for 'most' the EQ players. Therefore in a few hours upon the Veiled One server in PoKnowledge i'm gifting away all my EQ possessions, items all & coins. A bit over 100K rewarded here & there from lotteries & EQ quizzes along with items. Requesting to be deleveled by sacrifice for Neccys as well for the greater good. Afterward i shall commit pixel suicide from atop the library elevator. Then delete & uninstall to avoid EQ temptation, i just hope my small gesture will help some EQ players, because many many EQ players have been benevolent to me throughout which i sincerely thank! i even thank the Sony(SOE) staff whether i agree or disagree their views. i wanted to find a reason to resubscribe again. i even bought Titanium yesterday to upgrade my Platinum. So unused/unopened it shall remain. i erased my Allakhazam profiles & my Magelos. Perhaps it's time to try another MMO, any suggestions?
Sony(SOE) doing roll-backs probably did correct the mistake completely, but at what cost? i wasn't even affected by these roll-backs. Sony(SOE) has other tools to help correct mistakes, but Sony(SOE) seemed to emphasize the time investment needed to correct or customers/players welfare hence the blanketing roll-backs. While this seems to have worked for those customers/players that had interaction with the so said exploitive vendors. This shock & awe method seems to have harmed customers/players that didn't have 'direct' contact with these PoR beta vendors.
If customers/players 'A' dealt with one of the so said vendors, then buffed 'B' which donated to 'A' why then Sony(SOE) should 'B' lose the effort, time, AAs, coins Exp., items, Flags, & such? Sony(SOE) is stating this occurred to less than 1% too. Also, based upon the notes the patch was for: Mr. Tinkerton's removal, PC killer pets being fixed, a sitting down anomaly, & a few EQPlayers issues, hmmm. i'm glad Sony(SOE) acted to thwart any possible exploiting & to correct their mistake. The Sony(SOE) method in doing such is what i question & the regime like response of customers/players will not be reimbursed for lost items, Flags, Exp., coins, AAs, & such because of the Sony(SOE) mistake. Sony(SOE) will however aide in guild membership status & missing corpse issues. For all else, Sony(SOE) offers double your earned Exp. from Saturday through Monday to partially compensate & to distract from other problems with Sony's EQ. Sony(SOE) relies upon the EQ customers/players invested past for content, design, marketing, & yes customer service.
It's nice to get communication from the newish EQ Producer Chris Lena that's addressing a EQ game issue rather than the more self-promotional tour type so far been released. i want to know the history of the leader at the helm, eventually, but foremost i want to know how you will impact EQ, what are your ideas & concepts for EQ, how will you. Mr. Lena. improve EQ for us customers/players. Then, after getting that ball rolling chat about your 4th grade imaginary friend's name or something.
"The result is that the integrity of the economy has been maintained," was mentioned about these roll-backs by Mr. Lena. What about the integrity of the customer service Mr. Lena? Is it right if innocent customers/players have been harmed & Sony(SOE) wont do the fair action? i'm sure this is a headache for Mr. Lena like other Sony(SOE) personnel, but harm was done to your EQ customers/players so what will you do, do you care?
i suggest customers/players all make sure to take a step back from this Sony(SOE) EQ debacle then act measurably. Lots of heated chit-chat about. Some are not affected therefore don't care, some think we should all just accept the Sony(SOE) stance on this matter, some are outraged, some are discouraged, the feelings are as varied as the EQ customers/players. i say follow the offered ingame process: /petition, don't exaggerate, be polite, be patient, & hope that Sony(SOE) realizes that softening it's stone attitude & helping the people it afflicted by the Sony(SOE) mistake is the right thing to do. If not, there are other options despite the supposed end-all discussions possible EULA.
Even near the bottom of this EULA there is an option for Consumer Complaint assistance. Also, the San Diego Better Business Bureau for Sony(SOE) disputes. Then, though a drastic recourse, are law-suits which is extreme & could be more effort than most willing. Sony, not Sony(SOE) which is part of Sony, settled two group law suits even in 2005 dealing with movies & music. i still hope Sony(SOE) admits to it's folly & helps those customers/players that suffered lost progression somehow.
Sony(SOE) acted which they should've, how they went about doing it i think is the question. But a lot is hearsay, & then the Sony(SOE) gestapo customer service responses didn't help relations. i've also heard rumor that the warning once logged-in stating if you play for the next 24 hours you might be rolled-back had customers/players still rolled-back customers/players when they abided by that warning. Sony(SOE) wise-up & place the warning before we log-in allowing prevention of such endangerment, like a poll or suggestion to upgrade to an expansion or something.
Q, MNK, Morden Rasp to Povar, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
i've stated these before so 1 last time: Lesson of the Devoted should be retimed to every 12 hours & replace the Chaotic Jester with something beneficial, it's supposed to be a reward afterall ... Allow DoN crystals to be purchasable & used even by nonDoN expansion owners ... Where the hell is part2 of "class re-envisioning" Sony(SOE) has had 2 almost 3 expansions released so far since part1 ... Allow, for example, old & new Mistmoore's to be an instanced choice along with all the original Planes with certain lock-outs as needed ... Create a feasible soloing opportunity, i hear those Omens Tasks were practically fraudulent & LFGing for 1/3rd of the play time is discouraging ... Increase AA Exp. rate, reduce amount of AAs needed for choices &/or allow beginning @ level 46 ... Properly describe the AAs effect so we can make more informed decisions ... Finish the Find feature for zones ... Vendor defaults to 1 not 20 ... Rare random drops across zones, but specific to that zone ... Allow 75/25 entrance to locked zones instead of 85/15, be a rebel go for 50/50 maybe ... EQ Station Exchange Server, Sony(SOE) fears this because of the possible massive exodus ... augmentations to have self-buffing abilities, particles, auras, Etc ... Wider berth of Exp. giving levels ... Allow more Multi-Questing, let us players help us players more & i want me Pressl's ... Recalibrate the EQ conning system since it's not accurate ... Expansions to offer more content & not ingame needed utilities/functions ... permanent quitting players allowed to gift even NoDrop items, do this by Saturday please ... Simplify all of the different types of Auggys ... More use of the colored titles & auras for players ... For Throwing don't require Ammo & Range to be same item ... Random rare items from vendors time to time, could be quest npcs handles this way too ... Throwing Stone Combat Ability not to use Critical Blast ... Ability to rearrange buff order ... Create server-wide quests ... Increase faction rate speeds ... EQ & EQ2 cross-over gaming, what happened ... Make Event bags not weigh 10 stone like Halloween '05 ... Official ingame link-bot ... Sony(SOE) treatment in the end of the Legends community was pathetic ... Allow a choice of loots for quests, monster kills, Etc ... Add Endurance to Celestial Fists ... Maybe allow Celestial Fists buff to stack no matter since Epic ... Design a deity shrine to allow us to @ least see the deities ingame even if not interact with, perhaps around the new Arena ... i still do take credit for the Arena portal too & it should've been near the ShadowRest lady like i suggested ... EQ as a movie, excellent idea ... Increase efficiency of MNK's Thunder Kick ... Create very rare soul-bound gear ... Create timed npc buffers ... Increase older zones spawnings & loots ... Older zoned loots perhaps changed to Attuneables ... Mounts should regenerate Endurance like Mana ... Geerlok Language Interpreter Device, make it ... More frequent Events, Questings, Contests, Lotteries ... Method to view Faction status not needing to con ... Method to grant more npc guild practice points ... Iksar & Human Monks HP Regen & innate AC with hit-DMG/DLY ratio is outdated ... More choices of Mounts, perhaps Mount functions ... Elemental to be Attuneable like Ornate ... Veteran Rewards to be chosen ... Create a zone connecting to Crushbone +320 +565 ... Create a zone to that closed zoning tunnel in Quinui or Barindu, possibly a uber Monk gear zone ... Sony(SOE) interface to show % for AAs like health & such ... Nexus Spire portals every 5 minutes now ... Stop the homogenizing of so much gear, it's lazy of the designers, & always hurts the pure melee by 1 stat ... Downloading expansions should be cheaper than retail & should include the /claim trinkets still ... Grandmaster's Trade Skill tools should give more than 5% ... Legends is how all of EQ should try to be more of ... Bracer of hammerfal hammers able to hit magic creatures ... Sony(SOE) to announce ingame altering items before patch not after ... EQ should have own Food/Drink slots too ... Barbarians should finally be able to be Paladins ... Allow all keys to be on /keyring ... Alchemy, Poison-making & Tinkering to be had by all up to a certain skill limit maybe ... Half-elves to be allowed ShadowKnights as well ... Iksars to be allowed Rogues ... Dwarves allowed to be Rangers ... & dang it Sony(SOE) allow Vah Shirs to be Monks ... Return Home feature set for 4 hours ... Raid encounters to offer a certain amount of rewards per number of raid ... Bring back boats for some function ... Forage enabled for all via quest or AA ... Server 1st kills to have npc drop all loot available to that npc once ... & i do think announcing PoR right after Titanium was a bit ill-timed ... i never was patched my super-duper Monk gear either i sent in /feedback, the Quellious Monk specific gear ... a server with no npcs but just the zones opened for all to explore & appreciate
i know i'm not right on some of these ideas, some counter-act each other, some would unbalance, but i feel some would help progression in EQ for casual & hardcore alike. i concede i have a very limited scope of EQ. i played almost exclusively my Monk, 1 account 1 toon type player. i feel the worse loss will be not being able to appreciate & view all the wonderful visual zones in EQ. Too much in EQ is wasted nowadays. i think the AA concept was brilliant & has saved the game a bit even though Sony(SOE) has gone a bit overboard now. Escape to Norrath was a nice gesture & an informative welcome of EQ. EQ is supposed to be EverQuest not EverGrind. Sony(SOE) needs to allow more player friendly fun, the old tactics used when EQ was #1 now since that superiority is long gone. Cater to the remaining population of well-earned established veteran players & the multi-account players. Casual players should be able to catch-up moderately, not to the end-game content now, but in a few months. i concede that if i had began playing EQ using two accounts, a Shaman for my Monk i wouldn't be quitting. Perhaps if i opened my Titanium & used it to upgrade it would make the difference for me in EQ. Of the 375+ zones many are ghost-towns, 50K+ items that sometimes waste away, LFGing 1/3rd of the playing time. i want a challenge, achieving goals, obtain certain loots, i want to be able to progress, i want to have fun. No matter the time, money, & effort willing to be invested into Sony's EQ by Sony(SOE) design it wont guarantee success. Thank you again sincerely to many many players in EQ. Thanks to Sony(SOE) i was almost convinced to resubscribe, but now i gotta log-on to de-auggy my items & prepare a EQ quiz for later.
So much more i should say, but might not matter. i just want to contribute best i can to EQ players before i exit. Good luck & take care.
Q, MNK, Povar, unofficial pet class of Sony's EQ
What other MMOs have you already tried?
I agree with you on several points. For one, I have a half-elf warrior who follows Innoruuk... So why can't I have a SK? Chaotic Jester is only funny once or twice; that should be traded out for something useful, or at least make all the bread and wine it summons be the GOOD kind.
I have to admit that I am not playing any MMOs at the moment at all, myself, and when the semester is over and I do start playing again, it is going to be a toss up between EQ and WoW, unless something A LOT better comes along in the meantime. I love the people I know in EQ. I love the characters I play in EQ. But I had a good time in WoW too, and it is a lot more friendly toward players who want to drop in and have a good time rather than LFG. I have too much going on in my life to waste my little bit of spare time sitting around waiting for the fun to start. My last round in EQ, very recently, I didn't have to LFG much, having a husband that plays and a friendly guild, but if all my friends have moved on by the end of the semester, I will go back to WoW.
EDIT: Just as a personal aside, I was always "She of a thousand alts" in EQ, to the point that I have had multiple accounts and always agonize over which to play because my favorites are all spread out, but I only play "one class, one character" in WoW. I am an orc hunter on Perenolde, and I wouldn't be anything else, even after dabbling a little in other classes. I never identified with my EQ characters quite so personally.... FOR THE HORDE!
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.